Indie development studios in particular don’t have it easy to assert themselves against the competition in the games industry. The developer of a gaming gem on Steam also had to make a sad announcement.
Who is the person you are talking about? The indie development studio Die Gute Fabrik has existed since 2008 and is headquartered in Denmark. Their focus is primarily on story-driven adventure games with a look inspired by stencil printing processes.
Her games include Mutazione, released in 2019, and her most recent project, Saltsea Chronicles.
You can get an impression for yourself in the Mutazione trailer:
A mutant soap opera
The developer studio’s best-known game, Mutazione, is a relaxing adventure game that combines small-town gossip with supernatural mysteries.
You accompany 15-year-old Kai as he travels to the remote community of Mutazione to visit his sick grandfather. A long time ago, a strange meteor caused the local residents to become mutants. But now the typical small town dramas have also found their way into the town.
The game relies on a hand-illustrated world and a story with dramatic twists.
How is the game received? The game currently has 95% positive ratings on Steam, with almost 850 reviews. This makes Mutazione a real Steam insider tip for all fans of relaxing story games.
“Production stopped”
Despite the love of their players, Die Gute Fabrik has now had to announce that they will “cease production”. The financing and investment situation is currently simply too difficult, especially for smaller studios and projects.
On X they share a statement in which they explain that they have stopped working since mid-February. They want to continue paying the team until mid-March so that they can look for new jobs in peace.
You can find the entire statement in English here:
What’s next for the games? Die Gute Fabrik also explains in its post that they want to continue to support the previous games. Nor do they rule out the possibility of resuming work in the future if the financial situation changes at some point.
What are the reactions? In the comments, fans expressed their sadness about the development studio’s demise.
Unfortunately, the fate of Die Gute Fabrik is not an isolated case. The German development studio Mimimi Games also encountered similar difficulties. After three great games, they also stopped working. This is what lies behind it:
Award-winning gaming studio from Munich gives up after 3 strong games on Steam – too much personal strain